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Wrap-Up Week - Option 2 (Connection)

03/19/2019 1:08 PM | Anonymous

What was your favorite routine or strategy you learned from the book and/or the Fostering Math Practices website? 


Comments

  • 03/19/2019 2:05 PM | Sarah Giaquinta
    Of the routines I have implemented into my classroom, I have two favorites...

    1) On the Fostering Math Practices website, I really like the Decide and Defend. I especially like that it leaves room and prompts for things the students are still wondering or trying to figure out. Like I said in an earlier post, I found it motivated my students to keep going and not just give up when they got confused. They moved on and kept going and weren't too shy to ask about it. Since it was built in, and I tried to make it a real part of the discussion, it allowed them to really dig into what they didn't understand. It helped with their perseverance.

    2) I also liked Contemplate then Calculate. This is a great way to get kids thinking and talking at the beginning of the year and really sets them up for these routines! They find it fun and were asking me for more :)
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    • 03/20/2019 1:29 PM | Todd Butterworth
      I agree that starting the year with Contemplate then Calculate is a way to get the kids talking and thinking, so we should keep doing that :)

      Perhaps a goal for next year would be to introduce Decide and Defend to class (I'm thinking geo right now) early in the year and try to use it on day 4 of our cycle (not always, but when appropriate) as a way to reinforce the concepts from that cycle and engage with the concepts in a slightly different manner. It might help the students solidify their understanding and discover misconceptions earlier, especially if they're used to it throughout the year.
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  • 03/20/2019 9:22 AM | Marianne Springer
    The Three Reads and Capturing Quantities strategies both worked well in whole-class Algebra 2 lessons. I can also immediately see relevance for "Decide and Defend", but I have not had time to use the routine.

    I then used aspects of both of these routines (the Three Reads and the Capturing Quantities) in a later lesson. I had multiple problems being solved simultaneously by different groups of students. For the Three Reads piece, I had the small groups (2-3 people) share what the problem was, then quickly asked groups to share out "what is the question". When identifying important information, I focused on "Capturing Quantities" ideas, by asking students to pay particular attention to representing the quantities and relationships as they moved towards solving the problem. The students were given a list of relevant "Ask Yourself" questions, and my facilitation focused primarily on redirecting students to the quantities, relationships and making a visual representation. One of my takeaways was that students need more practice with the Capturing Quantities routine itself since there was resistance to making visual representations of the problems. Another takeaway was that two of the problems were solved without Algebra. One of them was easy to lead the students to an algebraic solution while I wasn't immediately prepared to take the other problem solution and bring in the math content that we were studying. If I use the same problem again, I would then have myself better prepared for the different approaches students might take.
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    • 03/20/2019 1:25 PM | Todd Butterworth
      I think using the sentence frames and things like the list of relevant "Ask Yourself" questions is something we can work into a lot of our work. It'll give kids a place to start when working on questions and (hopefully) cut back on them just saying..."I don't know."
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    • 03/25/2019 9:26 AM | Alison Foley
      I am in complete agreement with Marianne that the Three Reads and the Capturing Quantities are my favorite routines that I learned in the book. I work with students in grades K-5 so both of these routines are very relevant as students are comprehending word problems, figuring out the relationships between quantities and then solving these problems. I am working on modeling the Capturing Quantities with teachers at my school. So far, I have done it with students in K and students in grade five - it does not matter how simple or complex the problem, knowing the relationship between the quantities is so helpful and empowering for all students.
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  • 03/25/2019 1:21 PM | Jen Rianhard
    The take away from this book that I would like to use in the classroom or small groups would be reflecting on their learning. I have been trying to have students use sentence starters and math vocabulary to explain their thinking. The math work and organization have been really well done, but they struggle with the written component. I will continue to work on this as a personal goal for myself.
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  • 03/31/2019 5:53 PM | Allison Day
    I enjoyed learning about all of the routines.

    From the routines I've taught, the students really enjoyed the contemplate and calculate routine. They loved looking at the visual patterns. They were exciting about seeing different ways to solve the task. This routines values flexible thinking and highlights the importance of multiple strategies and approaches.

    As an educator, I believe the capturing quantities routine is really important. Reading word problems is where I see students struggle the most. Students often don't know where to start when they are solving problems. They often start by highlighting the key numbers. I think it is important for teachers to move to teaching students to look for the quantities and relationships.

    After reading this routine, I learned how to describe the difference between a quantity and a value to students. I started modeling the language in this routine for teachers by using the language of “What can I count, what can I measure” along with the sentence frames with students. I encourage students to list the quantities and relationships when solving word problems and to look for the “implied quantities” and “hidden relationships.”

    This routine has so many important habits and practices that mathematicians engage in. For example, it emphasizes and highlights the importance of representations and the different types of information that can be uncovered with them. It also promotes rephrasing of the problem, others’ ideas, and using precise language.

    Overall, I think this routine is extremely important and holds so much value in teaching it. It embeds and builds so many important skills within it!
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  • 03/31/2019 9:18 PM | Michele Hanly
    I found the three reads to be most important strategy for the work I do with students. Word problems tend to give most students trouble. It seems to me that students expect that after one reading of the problem they should be able to solve it and then quickly move on to the next. Just helping them realize that it is okay if it takes them up to three reads to figure out how to solve the problem. I think they feel relieved to know that I encourage this three step process.
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  • 04/30/2019 12:32 PM | Kerin Derosier
    Something that I really loved in this book is the section on the "Ask Yourself" questions and how they relate to different strategies. I always find myself discussing or thinking about how much I wish students asked themselves certain questions before just becoming a robot and doing out whatever calculation they think they should do for a problem. I have put up an anchor poster in my room with "Ask Yourself" questions that have resonated with my classes throughout the year, not only in routines, but in any math we are working on. I have seen some growth in this, but look forward to a fresh year next year starting with this right at the beginning of the year!
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